Bullheads are noxious weeds that tend to grow in sandy gravelly soil and usually show up in the fall. They don’t seem to require much water and they are tenaciously difficult to eradicate. They will mature and grow their nasty little burrs even if when sprayed with weed killer. The only way to really get rid of them is pull them one at a time making sure to get as much of the root as possible. They must be completely removed from the area and totally destroyed by fire. I know that God does not make mistakes and I am sure that He has some grand purpose for this noxious weed. I will be sure to ask Him when I see Him; of course it will not matter then.

I have been studying the Pentateuch and several ideas have presented themselves to me. God is showing His character. He is defining himself for us. God tells us what is pleasing to Him and what is displeasing to Him. He demonstrates His incredible forbearance in not totally destroying His creation in the face of great disobedience and lack of faith even by the most faithful of servants Moses. When God gives Moses instructions for Joshua as he prepares to lead the people into the Promised Land God warns them many times not allow evil into their lives. Evil is like the bullhead once it gets started it spreads with a force that is hard to stop. One little plant is easily plucked from the soil and destroyed when it first appears. If you mistakenly call the plant good it will take over your garden.

God told the people “¹⁶ If a malicious witness takes the stand to accuse a man of a crime, ¹⁷ the two men involved in the dispute must stand in the presence of the Lord before the priests and the judges who are in office at the time. ¹⁸ The judges must make a thorough investigation, and if the witness proves to be a liar, giving false testimony against his brother, ¹⁹ then do to him as he intended to do to his brother. You must purge the evil from among you. ²⁰ The rest of the people will hear of this and be afraid, and never again will such an evil thing be done among you. ²¹ Show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.”  The Holy Bible: New International Version, electronic ed., Deut 19:16-20:1 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996, c1984) and again “²² If a man is found sleeping with another man’s wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman must die. You must purge the evil from Israel.

²³ If a man happens to meet in a town a virgin pledged to be married and he sleeps with her, ²⁴ you shall take both of them to the gate of that town and stone them to death—the girl because she was in a town and did not scream for help, and the man because he violated another man’s wife. You must purge the evil from among you.” Deut 22:22—24 and yet again “⁷ If a man is caught kidnapping one of his brother Israelites and treats him as a slave or sells him, the kidnapper must die. You must purge the evil from among you.” Deut 24:7

At least ten times in Deuteronomy God says the people must discern evil, convict the guilty, and purge them from the assembly. His people are warned that they must not tolerate evil in their midst. Somehow in our society we have decided that in our “Christian” love we must tolerate evil. We are paying the price for that. Jesus tells us in Matthew ⁴³ “When an evil  spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. ⁴⁴ Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. ⁴⁵ Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.” Matt 12:43, 44, 45